Consequences of a Perfectionist
by GuidingHand
Summary: This is a brief one shot dedicated to the Snape's in our lives who made us who we are today. For many people in my hometown, those two people are Mr. Shetterly and Ms. Gates.


"Evanesco," the potion vanished from the cauldron. "Begin again," intoned Snape.

Snape stalked over to the next table. "Freeze," Snape demanded of Finnigan. "Do not put those in the there. The pieces of bat wing need to be cut into perfect squares. Do those look like squares to you?"

The boy looked down at the nearly square shaped pieces and thought, "yes," but was smart enough not to say so. "No sir?" The boy looked up at Snape.

"Then you had best cut them again. This time make them squares. Doing anything else is wasteful."

"So is throwing away already cut bat wings," thought Finnigan as he started again.

"All of you will stop this instant. Ms. Bell show me the jar of dragonfly wings you used. Mr. Thomas, let's see yours. Ah Mr. Weasley, so it was you who used the red dragon fly wings. Perhaps you need to go back to preschool to learn your colors. The directions clear say to use purple wings."

A few years later...

OWL Results  
93% of Hogwarts students pass Potions with an Exceeds Expectations or Outstanding

Many years later...

"Dad?"

"Yes, son?"

"It seems like your potions always turn out, but mine are never quite right. How come?"

"I had the most effective teacher ever to walk the halls of Hogwarts, and I hated his guts. The man could shred your ego to pieces, but he knew all there was to know about potions and he refused to accept anything less than perfection. I owe him everything."

"I don't get it. How can you owe him anything? He sounds awful."

"He made me expect more from myself, not just in potions, but in everything I do."

* * *

Moral:  
Perfectionist are not often appreciated in the moment, we often wish we had wands so we could curse them. But when we step back and see what they have accomplished we can do naught but give them praise.

* * *

This story is dedicated to the two Snapes from my home town and to all the Snapes in your life who made you who you are.

Mr. Shetterly was/is a band director that can silence a room of teens by simply walking in the room. He is a man who will halt a piece mid way and hold a 30 piece sectional just to discover the identity of the one pupil who dared to play a wrong note. On many occasions rumor would spread throughout the school that one instrument section or another had agreed as a whole that by 8AM tomorrow the band would no longer have a _ section (fill in the instrument name) because all members who played that instrument agreed to quit. But the rumors never turned into reality. The concerts played by Shetterly's bands are something to behold. Every piece is beautiful and played perfectly. Year after year bands directed by him earn top place in both state and interstate competitions. I was the Neville of the class and the cause of some of those sectionals. I couldn't handle the perfection and dropped out of the band. But I am still a music enthusiasts and attend many band concerts. I can't help but to critique each band against one directed by Shetterly. They never seem to live up to the mark.

Ms. Gates would shred, trash and give you a zero on a 100% paper if you made the minor infractions on turning in an assignment 30 seconds late or for simply failing to write the date at the top. You could still do the assignment over, but you had to start from scratch. This was before the age of computers, and again, I was the Neville of the class. Which means I spent a lot of time re-doing perfectly good assignments for minor infractions.

Were magic real, many of us would have to restrain our desire to curse these two teachers on many occasions. Yet, they are two of the most praised and respected teachers in my hometown. They made us expect more from ourselves and many of us credit our success in life to the skills they taught us, even if we didn't appreciate those skills at the time.

* * *

Instead of reviews, take a few moments to type about the Snape in your life that made you who you are.


End file.
